Many Reservists Missing From the Dinner Table: Outside, the sun is setting behind the bare trees and the wind is blowing the leaves on the ground as Michael Hayes opens his front door. Inside, warm air is billowing from the kitchen into the dining room, the lights are bright and his wife, Mary, is placing plate next to plate on the dining room table. There are beef ribs, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, cabbage and finally, the sweet-potato pie made from the near-sacrosanct recipe Mary Hayes's grandmother gave her, the one with the secret ingredient that she won't divulge, not even to her sister. It is, by almost every measure, a typical Thanksgiving at the Hayes home at Fort Meade, except for one thing: The calendar says it's almost a week before the actual holiday. And as Mary Hayes holds her children's hands and says grace softly under her breath, she knows that by the time the actual holiday rolls around, her husband will be gone. That's why she cooked his favorite -- beef ribs -- instead of a turkey, choosing his preference over the family tradition.